Hawkesbury Hawks


The Hawkesbury Hawks are a Junior "A" ice hockey team from Hawkesbury, Ontario, Canada. They are a part of the Central Canada Hockey League.

History

The Hawks were formed by a group of local businessmen in March 1974. From 1974 until 1976 the Hawks were a part of the Eastern Ontario Junior B Hockey League. After making the jump to the Central Junior A Hockey League in 1976, the Hawks found themselves in the basement of the league in their first season—although they quickly rose through the ranks in the seasons following. In 1979, the team won the CJHL Championship and moved on to the Centennial Cup where they lost the semi-finals to the Ontario Hockey Association's Guelph Platers—the eventual champion. The 1980 season saw them win the Bogart Cup as CJHL Champions again. This time they lost in the quarter-finals of the National Championship to Quebec Junior AAA Hockey League Champion Joliette Cyclones.
1990 saw the Hawks rise to glory once again as CJHL Champions, but an opening round loss in the national Championships to Quebec's Le Collège Français de Longueuil spelled the end of a National Championship run. In 1991, the team won the league again and then also hosted the Central Canadian Championship where they lost the semi-final to the Sudbury Junior Wolves of the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League.
1998-99 was a big year for the Hawkesbury Hawks as they won their first CJHL championship since 1991 by defeating the defending Art Bogart Cup and Fred Page Cup champions Brockville Braves in 6 games. Their trip to the Royal Bank Cup in Yorkton would be cut short as they were defeated by the hosts Charlottetown Abbies 2-0 in the Fred Page Cup final.
The Hawkesbury Hawks would go from not winning a quarter-final series from 2000 to 2004, until the 2004-05 season came as a surprise as they managed to defeat the Gloucester Rangers in 7 games, despite leading 3-0 and the Rangers coming back to force game 7. They would also defeat the second-heavily favored Cornwall in 6 games, and make the league finals against Nepean. Ironically, this series went to game 7 where the Hawks won 6-1. Hawkesbury clinched their first Art Bogart Cup since 1999. At the Fred Page Cup, it wasn't the exact measure of revenge as the Hawks defeated the hosts Yarmouth Mariners 4-3 in the final, but it was still a trip earned to the Royal Bank Cup in Weyburn, Saskatchewan. The Hawks lost their best player and captain Martin Beaulne, who reptured his spleen. On the way home to Hawkesbury, the team turned around and went to the hospital in Fredericton, New Brunswick because Beaulne was in pain and needed medical attention. The Hawks traveled without their captain able to play in the tournament, and the Hawks, who were needing a win against Portage to earn a berth in the quarter-finals, got the win in overtime. However, it was the Weyburn Red Wings they were facing. The Hawks tied the game seconds left in regulation, and lost the game in overtime sending the eventual Royal Bank Cup champions to the final.
With plenty of returning players, the Hawkesbury Hawks lost their coach Eric Veilleux took a job with the Shawinigan Cataractes of the QMJHL. This left the Hawks finding a replacement in Jeff Carter, who managed to lead the Hawks back to the league finals and win back-to-back CCHL champions, this time against the Nepean Raiders. However, their venture at the Fred Page Cup in Pembroke ended in the semi-finals after losing to the Joliette Action.
The Hawks fell apart as players, who played in the championship years graduated. The Hawks hit rock-bottom in the standings with only eight wins in 2008–09. Several players demanded trades, walked off the team or went elsewhere to resume their junior "A" hockey careers.
The 2009–10 season saw the Hawks go under new ownership, management and coaching staff. The Hawks brought in rookie coach Martin Dagenais, who also served as the acting general manager. Richard Morris stepped in as assistant coach., while Ian Henderson was brought on to the staff as assistant general manager and the director of player personnel. An entire new scouting staff was added as part of the new groups rebuilding plan for the franchise. By December, the Hawks had already matched the win total from the previous season with one of the youngest teams in the CJHL.
After back to back disappointing seasons 2012-2014 the Hawks needed a change. Owner Sylvain Landers made a dramatic move and brought in Head coach Rick Dorval. Dorval brought with him a successful track record of turning around struggling franchises with the Gloucester Rangers and the Ottawa Jr Sens achieving Coach of the Year in 2012-2013. In the 2014-2015 season the Hawks went from last in the league standings to fifth overall. With a rebuilt team in 2015-2016 the Hawks continued to move forward finishing third overall with only three points separating them from first place.
For the 2015-16 CCHL season, the Hawks dropped their original colors of Blue, Gold, Red and White and adopted the same colors of the Vancouver Canucks consisting of Blue, Green and White.

Season-by-Season record

Note: GP = Games Played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, OTL = Overtime Losses, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against
SeasonGP W L T OTLGF GA PointsFinishPlayoffs
1976-775093560214368246th CJHLDNQ
1977-7848133050212284314th CJHLLost Semi-Final
1978-7948241950257218532nd CJHLWon League
1979-805039830350191811st CJHLWon League
1980-8150281570244186633rd CJHLLost Semi-Final
1981-8250282020259243583rd CJHLLost Semi-Final
1982-8348222420194227464th CJHLLost Semi-Final
1983-845424237-253265555th CJHLLost Semi-Final
1984-8554361701296210733rd CJHLLost Semi-Final
1985-8660134412195372296th CJHLLost Quarter-Final
1986-8754183240217295426th CJHLLost Quarter-Final
1987-885694700190382187th CJHLLost Quarter-Final
1988-8956352011306258723rd CJHLLost Semi-Final
1989-9056401411343243821st CJHLWon League
1990-915239742305141841st CJHLWon League
1991-9257381414318242814th CJHLLost Quarter-Final
1992-9356312050316274676th CJHLLost Quarter-Final
1993-9457163335226293409th CJHLLost Quarter-Final
1994-9554272223257242595th CJHLLost Semi-Final
1995-9654272250242246594th RobinsonLost Quarter-Final
1996-975393860156274245th RobinsonDNQ
1997-98561926118204227573rd RobinsonLost Quarter-Final
1998-9956401130299172831st RobinsonWon League
1999-0056292430247237613rd RobinsonLost Quarter-Final
2000-01551429120190283423rd RobinsonLost Quarter-Final
2001-0255163091187226424th RobinsonLost Quarter-Final
2002-03552619102223218644th RobinsonLost Quarter-Final
2003-0455252064198179604th RobinsonLost Quarter-Final
2004-0557281937228187662nd RobinsonWon League, Won FPC
2005-0657301962221202681st RobinsonWon League
2006-0755252361196197573rd RobinsonLost Semi-Final
2007-0860302730232214633rd RobinsonLost Semi-Final
2008-0960847-51403002111th CJHLDNQ
2009-10621248-21373382612th CJHLDNQ
2010-11621146-51542932712th CCHLDNQ
2011-12623520-7214177775th CCHLLost Semi-final
2012-13622926-7176183658th CCHLLost Quarter-final
2013-14621839-51492484112th CCHLDNQ
2014-1562352520217192723rd of 6 Robinson
5th of 12th CCHL		Lost Quarterfinals, 2-4
2015-1662401615224170862nd of 6 Robinson
3rd of 12th CCHL		Won Quarterfinals, 4-0
Lost Semifinals 2-4
2016-1762362402205185743rd of 6 Robinson
4th of 12th CCHL		Lost Quarterfinals, 2-4
2017-1862362303200176752nd of 6 Robinson
4th of 12th CCHL		Won Quarterfinals, 4-3
Lost Semifinals, 0-4

Fred Page Cup

Eastern Canada Championships
MHL - QAAAJHL - CCHL - Host
Round robin play with 2nd vs 3rd in semi-final to advance against 1st in the finals.
YearRound RobinRecordStandingSemiFinalGold Medal Game
1999L, Charlottetown Abbies 3-6
W, Antogonish 6-4
L, Valleyfield Braves 2-3		1-2-03rd of 4OTW, Valleyfield Braves 6-5L, Charlottetown Abbies 0-2
2005L, Yarmouth Mariners 1-2
W, Truro Bearcats 2-1
W, Vaudreuil Mustangs 3-2		2-1-02nd of 4W, Vaudreuil Mustangs 5-4W, Yarmouth Mariners 4-3
Fred Page Cup Champions
advance to Royal Bank Cup
2006W, Woodstock Slammers 3-0
2OTL, Joliette Action 6-7
L, Pembroke Lumber Kings 1-5		1-2-03rd of 4L, Joliette Action 4-6

Royal Bank Cup

CANADIAN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS
Dudley Hewitt Champions - Central, Fred Page Champions - Eastern, Western Canada Cup Champions - Western, Western Canada Cup - Runners Up and Host
Round robin play with top 4 in semi-final and winners to finals.
YearRound RobinRecordStandingSemifinalGold Medal Game
2005L, Camrose Kodiaks 2-3
L, Georgetown Raiders 0-3
OTL, Weyburn Red Wings 3-4
2OTW, Portage Terriers 5-4		1-34th of 5L, Weyburn Red Wings 3-4n/a

Championships

Notable alumni